Confusion about salvation due to conflation of summary expressions
2.17.24
Consider all the ways salvation has been expressed, in some cases by the Bible itself. Most of these are summary expressions.
🔺 Jesus saves. —Usually taken to mean that, if a person believes in Jesus, he’s saved.
🔺 Faith saves.
“I believe in Jesus and He said if I believe, I have eternal life.”
Or, “I believe in God”, the assumption being I, thereby, must be alright.
🔺 The blood saves.
“I believe Jesus died to take my sins away. They’re gone. I’m washed in His blood.”
Or, “I am saved by the blood Jesus shed for me on the cross.” Again, the assumption is that, because I believe in Christ’s work on the cross, I’m certainly a recipient of salvation.
🔺 The Gospel saves.
“I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, I’m saved by the Gospel.”
🔺 Baptism saves.
Jesus said baptism saves (Mark 16:15-16). So did Peter (1Peter 3:21).
🔺 Repentance (turning to Christ) saves.
To some, this can mean that only the act of repentance is necessary as a means to salvation.
🔺 The Bible saves.
Many people think they are saved because they believe the Bible is authentic or because they read it, even if they don’t study to know its message. Jesus described some in this category (John 5:39-40).
The Bible says as well the Word is able to save your soul (James 1:21).
🔺Calling on the name of the Lord saves.
Many who cite this Old Testament verse believe that a simple faith in Christ or prayer using His name is sufficient for claiming salvation.
🔺 The name of Jesus saves.
Peter said we must be saved by the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
🔺 The plan of salvation saves.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter stated Acts 2:38 as the plan of salvation, asserting it to be so for the entire Church age (v.39).
🔺There are surely others because there are countless ways by which people claim salvation.
🟥 What’s needed: an accurate handling of the Word of God (2Timothy 2:15).
All the above expressions are true in their proper sense— a sense which, in most cases, has a limited sense. A good rule to remember is that when multiple ways of being saved seem apparent, care must be taken to differentiate between them. All cannot express the same thing or outcome. There is only one plan of salvation. Distinguishing that saving means is vital.
Misunderstanding has come from conflating (combining) expressions of salvation without regard to their individual, specific meaning relative to salvation. The result is confusion and error regarding salvation doctrine. All such expressions must all be understood in the full light of Scripture.
Let’s look at these previous eight expressions again.
🔺Jesus saves.
Christ offers salvation through a person’s faith in Him. If a person believes in Christ, he believes everything the Bible teaches about Him and everything Christ Himself taught, including what He prescribed for salvation. That is pure and simple faith and nothing short of that is faith in Christ. For example, Jesus taught baptism is necessary for salvation. To believe in Christ, then, is to be baptized. Faith is that simple.
Christ is, indeed, the Savior. There is a sense in which it is true that only Christ can save a person. He is the author of salvation. But, in the Christian era, Christ does not save apart from the plan of salvation. That’s because He has chosen to save exclusively by the Gospel, which He has placed in the hands of commissioned human agents (John 17:20; Hebrews 2:3; John 3:5).
Many believe they can say a prayer to Jesus and be saved. If that was the case, Paul would have been saved on the Damascus Road. Prayer can lead to surrender and repentance, which is a wonderful beginning, but it alone is not salvation. A person must obey the tenets of faith He prescribed for salvation (Hebrews 5:9; Acts 5:32).
🔺The blood saves.
That is a true statement within the confines of Gospel understanding. The blood is covenantal and is, therefore, applied through covenantal terms (Matthew 26:28). Indeed, the blood of Christ washes away sins, which is fundamental to salvation. But that occurs when a person is buried with Christ in baptism (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-5). That’s why Paul was not saved on the Damascus Road. It wasn’t until three days later when Ananias baptized him that his sins were washed away (Acts 22:16).
🔺Faith saves.
Faith is the great actuator. Nothing prompts action like faith. That is evident from Hebrews 11, the honor role of faith. That chapter contains the Bible’s greatest collection of people of faith. It, correspondingly, is the greatest chapter of feats done in faith. Faith always prompts action. James 2 corroborates this fact also. e.g., James 2:17-26
Faith in the Christian era has three important aspects:
1/ We must believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
2/ We must believe that He died and rose again for our sins and that His vicarious death on the cross was efficacious to save obedient souls.
3/ We must believe what Jesus prescribed for salvation in the Christian era. They are presented throughout His ministry and in the Great Commission, namely, repentance from sin, baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.
🔺Baptism saves.
Baptism is salvific because it remits sins. For that reason, Jesus said it saves and so did Peter (Mark 16:15-16; 1Peter 3:21). But the singular act of baptism is not sufficient in itself to save. It must be preceded by repentance (turning to Christ). It must also be coupled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38; 1Corinthians 12:13). Because it is a tenet of salvation does not mean the other tenets are not equally necessary. No part of Acts 2:38 can be omitted. It is the perfect salvation by regeneration. Not only must our sins be washed away through baptism in Jesus’ name, but we must receive the life-generating power of the Holy Ghost.
🔺Repentance (turning to Christ) saves.
Repentance is one of the tenets of salvation so it is necessary just as the others. But sometimes, salvation in general can be summed up by saying a person has turned his life over to Christ. The Apostles so described the Cornelius and his household in Acts 11:18. After hearing about their conversion experience, which was the fulness of Acts 2:38, they styled it as God granting the Gentiles “repentance unto [eternal] life”.
🔺The Gospel saves.
The Gospel certainly does save. But the Gospel includes everything the New Testament reveals about salvation in Christ, not just a rote belief in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Actually, believing in the ascension is just as necessary. It is the fulfillment of Psalms 110:1, a vital aspect of the faith.
🔺The Bible saves.
The inspired Word of God does save as James said (James 1:21). Jesus said we must live by every word (Matthew 4:4). Its full message reveals the plan of salvation by which we can legitimately claim salvation.
🔺Calling on the name of the Lord saves.
Peter quoted this verse in Joel on the Day of Pentecost and demonstrated how the name of the Lord saves, through baptism in Jesus’ name, by which a repentant soul receives remission of sins. This is also evident in Paul’s conversion (Acts 22:16). Ananias’ point about baptism being the application of Joel 2:32 was not missed on the learned Saul of Tarsus.
🔺The name of Jesus saves.
Peter declared to the Jewish Sanhedrin that there is no other name than that of Jesus by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The implication is that there is a salvific use of the name of Jesus. The only thing evident in the Scriptures is baptism in Jesus’ name, which is revealed to be for the remission of sins. That is clearly how the name of Jesus saves. This is why Peter could say baptism saves (1Peter 3:21). It’s how we receive remission of sins.
🔺The plan of salvation saves.
This is the most precise of the statements listed here. It takes in all of the others. The plan of salvation is what Christ gave to the Apostles to bring salvation to the world in His absence. It is how the blood is applied. It is how Christ saves today. It is how we call on the name of the Lord. It is how the name of Jesus saves. It is how faith saves. Believing and obeying the plan of salvation is the purest faith in Christ.
No one is saved apart from obeying the plan of salvation. That’s the only way you can know someone is saved. Without that biblical standard, salvation would be totally subjective. Every person would devise his own means and state his claim of salvation according to his own will.
God is not the author of confusion. Hoping for salvation without obeying the plan of salvation is hoping God will not keep His Word.
False doctrine is especially pernicious because it’s inability to save may not be apparent to its victims until the Rapture. That is one of the saddest realities that I can think of.
There can’t be two ways to be saved. I think some people think you’re unkind to express that, but it’s simply a theological fact and one that every believer should know and be adamant about.
The point in expressing this profundity is to prompt souls on the eve of the Rapture to be sure of their salvation. We only have one shot to make it in. There won’t be a second Rapture. Concern for others to be ready for the Lord’s coming is not being petty or judgmental. It is abundantly loving and kind— almost to the extent of being angelic, as in the case of the heavenly messengers sent to rescue Lot.